On Sunday, August 6, 2023, at 5:37 p.m., Lisa Jordan, 42, was standing at the northwest corner of Commerce and Akard streets in downtown Dallas, waiting for the light to change so she could cross the street heading east. Jordan had just left her shift at the Adolphus Spa and was heading to her car in a nearby parking garage.
At the same time, the defendant, 66-year-old Kundin Nadew, a taxi driver, had just dropped off a fare at the Adolphus Hotel. Nadew was driving a white Ford Explorer and was waiting at a red light on Commerce Street, preparing to turn left onto Akard Street.
As the traffic light turned green and the pedestrian signal allowed crossing, Jordan began to walk into the crosswalk. The Ford Explorer remained stationary for a brief moment before Nadew began to drive. As Jordan was halfway across, Nadew’s vehicle struck her from behind, running over and killing her. Following the impact, Nadew briefly drove onto the curb and then proceeded north on Akard Street, running a red light at Akard and Main Street. He subsequently collided gently with a building and was detained by an off-duty Waco Police Department Sergeant attending a conference in Dallas.
Nadew was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, nor did he have any medical conditions affecting his driving. He was examined and cleared by EMS and ER staff. Nadew claimed that Jordan stepped out in front of him and that his brakes were malfunctioning. When arrested by Dallas Police, Nadew noted that his cell phone was missing from its usual holder on his windshield. The vehicle’s Electronic Data Recorder (EDR) did not record the impact with Jordan but did capture data from the subsequent collision with the building. The EDR data showed that neither the gas nor brake pedals were pressed during the last 5 seconds before the crash with the building, indicating only steering was occurring.
Investigations by DA Office Investigator Ron Cathcart confirmed that the brakes were functional when inspected less than a week before the trial. Nadew’s criminal history included misdemeanor arrests for DUI in Atlanta in 1992 and in Oregon in 2012.
Nadew entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to the maximum of 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, and a deadly weapon finding.
